Magician and Criminal
by Athiya
Summary: "As I was saying, Mr. Fowl and Mr. Butler, I will ask you a few questions about your involvement in a group called The Resistance." What happens when Artemis finds himself in Nathaniel's world?
1. Chapter 1

**AN: My first crossover! The idea for a crossover between Arty and Nat has been in my brain for a long time. I mean, they're both charming, intelligent, sometimes irritating European boys, and I bet you're also wondering what they'd do if they meet each other. The first chapter will be Nathaniel's, and then we'll see how they enjoy each other's presence in the second chapter. Happy reading!**

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><p>London in the morning. The city's bathed with warm sunlight, its' people scuttling here and there (well, the government people at least), and the pleasant sound of cars running and shops opening were heard everywhere. If you were observant enough, you would see some of these people are not really people. Indeed, various djinn and foliots were also busy with their errands outdoor, though of course they choose the appropriate guises here.<p>

And then we have Nathaniel (or John Mandrake, as he liked to be called) – savior of the Prime Minister and master to the most ferocious demons – doing trivial tasks such as designing pamphlets in his office. This was an outrage, he thought furiously. He should be out there, looking for the Resistance! Nathaniel had secretly cursed the PM's decision to focus more on the anticipated war than more urgent matters at hand. Surely one of his enemies would have caughth up with him and find more news about the group by now.

Just as he was going to summon one of his spies for updates, the telephone rang. Good. Perhaps this would bring the end of his terrifically boring work.

"Hello? John Mandrake speaking."

"Hello, sir, this is Huntington, from Buckingham Gate. We have a situation …"

"What kind of situation?"

"Someone's possessed a hidden magical artifact. We believe it could be linked to the Resistance, sir."

Nathaniel couldn't suppress his smile. "Kindly elaborate, Mr. Huntington."

A young boy and a massive man set off a magic detector on a hotel in Westminster at 10 A.M in the morning. They insisted that they had not brought any magical objects, and were described to be genuinely bewildered when questioned. The boy then asked security about the existence of magic, which was certainly unusual. Furthermore, the manager said that the boy, smartly dressed and seemingly educated, didn't quite strike him as an apprentice nor a commoner. "He was too confident, sir, too ... arrogant. You would think someone like him must be a lost apprentice, but that doesn't explain the big man who came with him. The whole pair seems so peculiar, sir; perhaps it's best if you come straight here."

After a hasty thank you, Nathaniel had hung up and asked his assistant, Piper, to immediately arrange transportation. Well, this was certainly worth investigating: an odd youth with concealed magical objects and a giant by his side. Not what his mind would come up with when he thought of the Resistance, but this would do. (After all, Nathaniel would much preferred to do an interrogation than to dully continue the pamphlets he was supposed to do)

The only problem was, most of his djinn were on their respective missions. Except … except for Bartimaeus. Nathaniel had ordered him to help distribute his _True War Stories_, and he was sure that _that_ could be delayed (he was mildly surprised that the public even believed the rubbish on those). However, Bartimaeus was the least obedient of his servant and had a history of showing such impertinence throughout his career. Should he risk another tiresome afternoon with the frustrating djinni just to be protected?

"Sir? The limo has arrived," called Piper.

"Thank you, Piper. I'll be down in a moment."

No time to hesitate. Using a complex hand gesture and a few Latin syllables, Nathaniel summoned Bartimaeus quickly. He grudgingly decided against going alone because no matter how irritating Bartimaeus could be, Nathaniel couldn't exactly claim that the djinni had failed him miserably in the past. Some of Nathaniel's feats were actually thanks to Bartimaeus, now that he thought about it (though no way would he admitted that in front of anyone).

Bartimaeus appeared rather sloppily, with smokes covering his upper side, and his bottom one a blur – apparently not yet deciding which guise he should wear. "Fancy seeing you," he said, finally choosing the physical guise of Kitty Jones. "What now? Paint your apartment purple? Entertain the children with magnificent clowns and puppies? Do acrobats just for the heck of it? Spit out your most humiliating order all ready, O master!"

Nathaniel was busy looking at Kitty's guise. He tutted loudly. "Must you really?"

"Must _you_ really enslaved me?" retorted Bartimaeus.

"I haven't time to mess about, Bartimaeus," said Nathaniel. "There are suspects of the Resistance in Westminster. I wish to interrogate them, but I'm running out of djinn to protect me. You seem to be free –"

"Wrong. Enslaved, remember?"

"– so I'm taking you with me to meet them. Change your guise and let's go." Nathaniel went to the door and stride stylishly down the stairs and into his car. The djinni followed with reluctant speed, keeping Kitty Jones as his guise. He smirked a little as he noticed that Nathaniel was glancing at him and gave him the ugliest frown of disapproval not unlike a squat hippopotamus.


	2. Chapter 2

**AN: Sorry this took so long! I've been busy with school and exams and such. Enjoy! :)**

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><p>Nathaniel was briefed about the two strange fellows by the gracious and easily flustered hotel manager, Mr Flanagan. He learnt that the boy's name was Artemis Fowl, and the big man was his bodyguard, Butler. "Butler?" Nathaniel repeated. Mr Flanagan simply nodded and could not elaborate further about the bodyguard's name, or indeed about their whole suspicious affairs. He merely informed Nathaniel that Fowl and Butler were in a business trip from Ireland. As for what kind of business that they were involved in, they stated that it was classified. Sighing, Nathaniel said thank you to the manager and asked him to show him the way to the suspects.<p>

Before he went in to the meeting room – which, in this occasion, was also his interrogation room – he had taken a moment to inspect the offending item: a blue-green sphere found in the boy's bag. The sphere was an ancient item with no real value, aside from the mildly amusing spiral pattern that moved magically inside it. Nathaniel suspected a hidden button that could reveal its' true form (perhaps it was a complex supernatural weapon disguised as a harmless globe?) and had instructed Bartimaeus to check it; he found nothing. The djinni declared the item as "utter trash", so Nathaniel left it in Bartimaeus' possession and strode off into the room.

"Good morning," he said pleasantly. The meeting room they were in was large and painted white. A long table was in the center, with twelve chairs surrounding it. The boy and giant sat in one side of the table, staring at Nathaniel with no real interest. He found that deeply offending – he was the government's youngest minister, for crying out loud!

Before he could introduce himself, however, the boy – Fowl – said immediately, "Butler and I are terribly tired and rather thirsty. We've been waiting for at least half an hour for no real cause, and nobody had explained why we are here."

Nathaniel frowned. "You are here because you are caught having a magical artifact in your –"

"Is that not allowed –?"

"Not in places with important magicians about. Tell me, Mr Fowl, have you heard about the Resistance before?"

"No."

"Well, then, you've been living under a rock. The Resistance are a group of youth – much like yourself – that commit petty theft of magical objects to overrule the magicians. Such foolish acts, I must say." He chuckled, emphasizing his opinion on how ridiculous the Resistance was.

"I am not part of them," Artemis said shortly.

"No? Then what are you, Mr Fowl? Surely you don't mean to tell me that you're just an ordinary commoner who found an elemental sphere on the ground and decided to pick it up? Those things are exotic and rare, I understand. Perhaps you saw the pretty little thing glinting in some magician's room and you –"

"I see what you're doing here," Artemis smiled. "You're being the aggressive cop. Everything you said is to confuse and overwhelm me, until I finally cracked and said something I wish I hadn't."

"Well," said Nathaniel, "let's skip to the part where you finally crack, shall we? Who are you?"

"I am Artemis Fowl Junior, son of Artemis Fowl Senior. This is my bodyguard, Butler. But you know all that already."

"Quite right," Nathaniel nodded seriously. "I know your names. What I don't know is who are you _exactly_. You don't quite strike me as a commoner, what with your attire and the present of your bodyguard –" he made a quotation mark in the air, "– but I find it hard to believe that you are an apprentice, either. What master would let his apprentice wondering around London all by his lonesome except for a ... _bodyguard_?"

Artemis glanced at Butler. There seemed to be an unspoken agreement between them at that moment, and Artemis straighten himself up. "Mr –?"

"John Mandrake, Internal Affair Minister."

"Mr Mandrake, I am about to tell you something that is ..._ impossible_, to say the least. Do you think you can believe it?"

Nathaniel raised one eyebrow. This was not what he imagined the interrogation would go at all. He thought Fowl would admitted that he did steal the sphere, and that Butler was his accomplice. They would go to jail, and Nathaniel could return to his coffee at his office. Oh, well. Perhaps this could prove to be more interesting than his dull paperwork. Quietly, he nodded.

"I doubt that very much, Mr Mandrake, but what choice do we have?" Artemis said. "I have been humoring you, you see. I think it is outrageous that you have arrested me because I possess a magical object, simply because magic should not be seen as real. At least, it isn't in my world. And it is also very unlikely that you are a minister – what are you, thirteen, fourteen? – but judging by how different everything else is, perhaps it is common to have such young ministers here.

What I'm trying to say is, Butler and I don't belong in this world. We are transported here magically, it's true, but it is by a kind that actually does magic, never by humans such as yourself. Simply put, we are from two different universe, or dimension, or whatever you wish to call it."

Nathaniel reaction was to stare at Artemis fully for two whole seconds, before laughing. He shook his head and made his was to the door, trying to recall the number of the mental hospital. That is, before his way was blocked by the giant – Butler. "You are not going anywhere," he said dangerously. "We need help."


End file.
